Aftermath
by That Human
Summary: Organization XIII has succeeded in their mission and have received hearts and souls of their very own, but how will they handle the new and heavy burden of emotions and living without the Organization?


(Author's Note: This is my first story published on this website, so I hope you enjoy! :) I always welcome CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.)

( ALSO: For a reference point, this story is a "what if" if Sora had been defeated by the organization and they had succeeded in getting hearts from Kingdom Hearts, or if Sora had just never existed at all. Take your pick.~)

Everything in this life is a matter of perspective. If I was certain of any one thing in my existence—if it could be truly called that—up to this point, it was that everything was temporary and could be changed in an instant. Plants grew, living things aged and died, though a man of 21 like my self was still young and learning in one eye and ancient in another's. It was perspective, nothing more. Some people liked me, others didn't. I figured most of the organization didn't care whether I stuck around or not, but when we finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, there was no way I would have given it up.

So why does perspective matter? Some things fly by, unnoticed and unappreciated, while to others, that exact same thing may mean the world.

I was still trying to peace together what exactly it felt like to have something mean the world. I'd only had a heart for maybe six hours, and most of that time was spent sleeping.

Still, the image of Kingdom Hearts was burned into my mind's eye and I couldn't for a second look away from it. It's power, its sheer magnitude… just six hours ago that thing was ours and ours alone. There was a flash, then a horrible burning sensation from my core, then… blackout. "Congratulations," Xemnas muttered with a hint of sarcasm. "You have a heart, Demyx. Your… use to the Organization is no more. You may take your leave in the morning."

Yeah, yeah, so I got kicked out. I didn't mind all that much. I had gotten what I wanted. We all had. We had won, and now we had hearts. Souls of our very own! This was a time to celebrate, if anything.

With Kingdom Hearts now exploited to our liking and released, our "moon" of sorts was no more. Since our world didn't have another light source, I didn't have the luxury of waking up to a pleasant sunbeam creeping through my window. I woke up because of the cold. I let out a groan and yanked my covers to my shoulders, curling into a fetal position to save any body heat I could. Out of a tiny opening in the blankets, I peered out into my bedroom, examining my surroundings.

White, white, everything was white. I was used to it. A layer of fog was beginning to creep up the window glass. "Darn," I muttered out loud. "I'm going to have to turn on the heater of this place. I hate going to that part of the castle."

Irritation.

My mind stopped cold in its tracks. Was I… annoyed? All the symptoms matched. I had done enough research on human emotions to fawn things so well I fooled even myself sometimes. I knew the motions well enough. I was frowning, my brow was furrowed, but I had done it without thinking. It was a reflex. It wasn't some dry, faux emotion I had experienced; it was actual irritation.

Which meant I really, truly did have a heart.

I flew out of the covers towards the window, pressing my fingers against the fog. I tried smiling, and let what I assumed was happiness flow into my body. This was… so new! I enjoyed happiness a lot better than irritation. I would learn how to sort all these emotions eventually, I figured. But at that time, all I had was the deep urge to discover every feeling my heart was capable of. Joy? Anger? Fear? Each word was a secret about to be decoded for me, and I could barely keep all my excitement contained.

I moved with a new sort of electricity. I went to my closet and threw open the door, picking my favorite of the cloaks that hung inside. I shimmied into it and looked at myself in the mirror. If I dared say so myself, I looked pretty good. I seemed confident. A huge smile was plastered onto my face. Who else would be carrying a huge grin around today?

Before I walked out of my room into the castle's hallways, I took one last glance at that fog on the window. Well, in that moment, it meant the world to me.

That was my perspective, anyway.

I pushed open the door and was immediately greeted with some sort of echoing from one of the living rooms. Furrowing my brown in curiosity, I made my way towards the noise. It grew clearer with each step: voices, laughter, the clinking of glasses. A celebration? My walk turned into a light jog as I made my way to the end of the hall and entered the scene.

I had never seen anything like it before.

Xigbar and Luxord had set up a massive card game on one of the tables, while Axel, Larxene, and Lexaeus watched with interest. Xigbar shot some trash talk before throwing an Ace down into the pile, and the onlookers cheered and laughed and clinked their glasses together.

"H-hey guys!" I stammered, walking towards them. "What's going on?"

"A party, that's what!' Axel replied. "Why not celebrate a little?" He grinned and picked up a bottle from under the card table. "Wine?" he offered. "It was, er, imported from the Beast's Castle."

"Sure!" I beamed. Axel nodded and zipped away to prepare a wine glass. Larxene looked at me with an unreadable expression, but I felt uncomfortable under her gaze. My eyes darted towards the wall and stayed there until the pressure was off.

"Wine," Axel said, returning. I thanked him and reached out to take it. Just as the glass passed from his hands to mine, Luxord slapped down three Jacks and the group erupted into cheers again. I joined in and took a swig of the drink. I found it disgustingly bitter, but I was too happy to care. Who wouldn't have been, at this point?

Suddenly, Saïx appeared in one of the many door frames. "It's great to see you all are having… fun," he muttered. "But Xemnas has called for a meeting and I suggest you clean up any mess before he discovers it." Without waiting for a response, he swung around and disappeared down the hall.

"Dang," Xigbar mutered. "Even with a heart he's still as surely as always."

That was his perspective, I figured. I happened to share it.

The little party was wrapped up in an instant, and the wine was shoved randomly into a cabinet for later. The six of us shuffled out, all with big, childish smiles on our faces. Yes, this was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. I could feel it in myself and see it on everyone else. We really did have hearts.

Still, with our fantastic luck, there was no way things would be that simple.


End file.
